For the second year in a row, San Benito had its way with Hilmar in its season opener. The Haybalers ran roughshod over the visiting Yellowjackets 49-20 on Friday. San Benito rushed for 384 yards and had 514 yards of total offense.
Hunter Nye rushed for a career-high 200 yards on 14 carries, busting off nine runs of 10 yards or more.
The offensive line did a nice job of getting off the ball and allowing Nye—who had touchdown runs of 11 and 22 yards—to get past the line of scrimmage without much resistance.
“Hunter ran the ball extremely well,” Balers coach Chris Cameron said. “Our kids got him to the second level, and he’s almost on his own at that point (running in the open field).”
Kyle Cameron rushed for 82 yards on 10 carries, including touchdown runs of 4, 6 and 1 yards. The game’s outcome was never really in doubt, not after the Balers took a 21-7 lead after the first quarter. San Benito took the game’s opening drive and needed just four plays to go 59 yards for a score, capped by Cameron’s 4-yard TD run over right guard.
Hilmar (1-1) answered with a TD only to see the Balers assert their dominance. After a 50-yard kickoff return from Isaac Regalado, quarterback R.J. Clark went around left end for a 43-yard TD run to put San Benito ahead 14-7 with 5:31 left in the first quarter.
Hilmar’s next possession went awry thanks to Balers cornerback Donny Torres, who returned an interception 21 yards to the Hilmar 40-yard line. On the next play, Nye went up the gut for a 34-yard gain, setting up a Cameron 6-yard TD run. Clark had an ultra-efficient game, completing 6-of-7 passes for 130 yards while running for 56 more.
The left-hander delivered some nice throws as the team’s passing attack looked better than it ever did all of last year. A lot of that had to do with the play of the offensive line of Daniel Pasillas, Tristian Medina, Marcos Flores, Spencer Maes and Blaize Solis, who delivered a devastating block that sprung Nye’s 11-yard TD run.
Cameron felt good about the players’ effort and physicality. However, he knows the team’s upcoming opponents—Santa Clara Valley De Anza Division powers Palo Alto, Los Gatos and Wilcox—are a big step up in competition.
“The creature is going to get better on the other side of the field,” Cameron said. “We’re not going to go out and score 49 points on the next couple of opponents.”
San Benito’s defense gave up some big plays, but it played its best when Hilmar got deep into Balers’ territory. After Yellowjackets receiver Alex Chavez had five catches in the first half, the San Benito coaches put Torres on Chavez, who had just two receptions in the second half.
San Benito only had one turnover, and Cameron knows the team will need to play a clean game against the series of opponents coming up.
“Hell, we have a lot of things to fix, but it’s one week at a time,” he said. “There were a lot of good things to take out of this game.”
